UNITED STATES—It is a big debate in this country right now. At what age should a child get a cellphone? There are some parents out there, that would argue, the kid gets a cellphone when he or she is paying for it themselves. However, there are those who think otherwise. For me, I didn’t get my first cellphone until I was in college. Growing up in my household, we actually had a landline that was used, and it was extremely chaotic when you had siblings, and everyone was trying to utilize the phone at a given time.
With that said, there are kids nowadays who are getting cellphones at an earlier and earlier age. My niece for example she had her own cellphone at the age of six. Yes, six, sounds crazy, but it is true. For so many children, they are more tech savvy than the adults. I mean my niece was able to utilize a smart phone better than me at the age of four. My niece is no longer six, but she does have a cellphone, and she has restrictions like not really being able to take it to school, cut off times during the night and so much more.
Her sister on the flipside, does NOT have a cellphone and she is currently six. I think the parents have decided that when she gets to a certain age, she will get her own phone. However, the issue with tech in particular is that the children are so engrained with technology nowadays that nothing else matters to them. If they were given the opportunity to be on the phone 24/7 the kids absolutely would be, no doubt about it.
Hell, even as adults we’re at a point where we are on our phones more than the kids, yet we’re telling them to get off their phone. Many would say that is the pot calling the kettle. You show by example, do less and the kid may do the same. However, what is the perfect age for a kid to have a cellphone, some are arguing right around the start of high school, so around 13 or 14. However, I do think a kid could have a phone as early as around 12.
Why? As a parent you want to be able to connect and chat with your child if you need to. Like the other day, it baffled me that my niece who is six was talking about a shooting drill. I mean we had fire and tornado drills when I was in elementary school, but never did we have to prepare for what would happen if an active shooter were to take place at the school.
Like seriously? This is one of the reasons most parents want their kids to have a cellphone, even at an early age because it means if something God forbid tragically happens you’re able to get in contact with your kid. Nothing would be more terrifying than knowing an emergency has unfolded, and a parent is not able to get in touch with their child. Then wouldn’t you know, another school shooting transpired this week in Georgia, where several people were killed and countless others were injured. This goes back to the argument of parents wanting to get in touch with their kids if such a thing were to unfold at their school or university for that matter.
There are some schools that are banning cellphones in schools or taking them from children once they get to school and they get them back right before school ends. And to be honest I am slightly torn on that. I don’t know how I actually feel about it. I mean I grew up going to school without cellphones, so I don’t think you have to have a phone while in the classroom, but times have changed. Things are not the same as they were in the 80s, 90s, hell, early 00s. Technology has evolved and as a result how we behave and adapt has to do the same.
I guess as long as you do not have kids on their phones in the classroom that is key. I would hate to enter the classroom of a first, second, third or fourth grade, and see students on their cellphones instead of learning. Here is the thing, maturity matters when it comes to the child. As a parent, if you think your child is mature enough to have a cellphone then you have to make the decision if you want them to have one or not. The thing is once you let the cat out of the bag, you cannot put it back in.
Written By Jason Jones
